For today at CMJ, I have three shows plus an event going on throughout the evening event with a cast of dozens to recommend. First up, in mid afternoon, is long-time Now I’ve Heard Everything favorite Julia Haltigan, just back from a road trip. It’s hard to describe Julia’s music in just a few words, but bluesy, retro, Latin and Waitsian should be among the words in that description. She’ll be playing at The Rockwood Music Hall at 2:30pm.

Finally, The Bowery Electric holds its CMJ edition of its weekly Old Soul Revival. Tonight’s OSR gets going in The Map Room on the first floor at 8pm, and will have a one hour open bar from 9 to 10pm. As always, there will be a large number of musicians playing fairly short sets. Special guests tonight include rockabilly legend Robert Gordon, Patti Smith guitarist, author and producer Lenny Kaye and indie rocker Michelle Casillas (from Ursa Minor). They’ll go on sometime after 10pm.

Julia Haltigan, Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen Street between Houston and Stanton Streets (F Train to 2nd Avenue, use the 1st Avenue exit), 2:30pm, No Cover (but a contribution for the band is highly recommended)

Jonatha Brooke, Rockwood Stage 2, 196 Allen Street between Houston and Stanton Streets (F Train to 2nd Avenue, use the 1st Avenue exit), 7:15pm, No Cover (but a contribution for the band is highly recommended)

Another day, another free outdoor show. Tonight, it’s Patti Smith at Castle Clinton, which is located inside Battery Park. Just in case you don’t know who Patti Smith is, here’s a very succinct summary of her career from Wikipedia:

Tonight’s show is free, but you will need to get a ticket. Tickets will be distributed outside Castle Clinton starting at 5pm with a two tickets per person limit. The line will form well before 5pm, and getting there as early as you can will be essential. Castle Clinton will open at 6pm and the show will start at 7pm.

Patti Smith, Castle Clinton, Battery Park enter at State Street and Battery Place (1 Train to South Ferry, 4 or 5 Train to Bowling Green or R Train to Whitehall Street), 7pm, Free

If all the waiting on line doesn’t work for you, there’s a pretty good alternative show over in Williamsburg at Public Assembly. Called Women Rock!, it, of course, features a number of women rockers. NIHE favorites Emily Zuzik and Misty Boyce will be there and both are coming very strong shows during the past week. Also on the bill are Ghostwise, Claire London and Lisa Jaeggi. The whole event is free.

July has musicians appearing for the first time in a while, while some who usually play NYC frequently are appearing for the last time in a while (The Madison Square Gardeners and Harper Blynn). There’s clearly a lot going on and as usual, I’m sure more will be added as the month unfolds.

I met Alana Sveta late one night on the Brooklyn-bound side of the G Train Metropolitan Avenue Station. She and a friend were singing in harmony as Alana played guitar. They sounded pretty good and from the looks of Alana’s guitar case, which had a pretty good haul of one dollar bills, many people agreed with my assessment.

Alana came to New York City on vacation about two years ago and played her first show here at Goodbye, Blue Monday in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Soon after, Alana moved here from San Francisco. She first played the subway in July, 2008 and that has been the way she’s been financing herself since. Yes, she’s also playing clubs and had a date at Webster Hall this past week as well (and if anyone from The Rockwood Music Hall is out there, she’d love to play there). Multitalented, Alana is also a graphics artist and has just completed a screen play.

Alana’s solo work over the past few years has been introspective. But she is in the process of forming a band, whose name at this point is Beaux. She said that the music of that band is going to be “joyful.”

City Winery is holding four nights of concerts to raise money for Haiti. Here’s their statement:

We need your help to raise $100,000 in four nights to help the victims of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake. No country in the Western Hemisphere has been battered more than Haiti in the last 500 years—the nearly complete annihilation of its native population over two decades, a brutal slave regime, ongoing foreign military interventions over hundreds of years, brutal dictatorships supported by western powers, blockades of aid and more recently, devastating natural disasters from hurricanes to this latest earthquake.

100% of proceeds from this benefit will be donated to Wyclef Jean’s YELE to fund the Emergency Mobile Hospitals initiative administered by the U.N. We ask that you give any way you can.

The shows so far (more artists are going to be announced within the next 48 hours):